1. Field
The disclosed system and method relates to a network facsimile apparatus. More particularly, the disclosed system and method relates to a network facsimile apparatus which is capable of performing an HTTP server function while avoiding an increase of data storage.
2. Description of the Related Arts
There has been developed a so-called network facsimile machine that is capable of exchanging data (e.g. electronic mail) with other data terminals via a local area network (LAN) and the Internet, as well as exchanging facsimile data with other facsimile machines via a public switched telephone network (PSTN). Such a network facsimile machine is capable of transmitting image information to both users of data terminals (e.g. personal computers) on the local area network and of facsimile machines connected to the public switched telephone network. Also, the network facsimile machine may transmit image information to data terminals connected to other local area networks when the local area network of the network facsimile machine is connected to other local area networks through the Internet.
Moreover, users can transmit image information from a facsimile machine to data terminals on a local area network via the network facsimile machine. This function of the network facsimile machine may be referred to as an information relay function or an information transfer function. The network facsimile machine can also relay information to other network facsimile machines across local area networks.
In many cases, the facsimile terminal sends a sub-address to the network facsimile machine when requesting the information relay operation. The sub-address for this use is defined by the Group 3 facsimile protocol according to the recommendation T.30 of ITU-T (international telecommunication union-telecommunication). On the other hand, a typical communications method for communicating between the data terminals on a local area network is E-mail (electronic mail) and each of the data terminals is generally assigned an individual E-mail address. To connect the sub-address to the E-mail address, the network facsimile machine is provided with an address conversion table for converting a sub-address into an E-mail address so that a communications machine outside the local area network can specify a destination data terminal on a local area network.
When the relay transmission is requested by a data terminal in which a destination machine is a facsimile terminal, the data terminal writes a facsimile number in a header of E-mail. Thereby, the network facsimile machine can perform relay transmission by designating the destination facsimile terminal using the facsimile number provided.
Accordingly, users can greatly benefit from such convenient connections between networks of the facsimile machines and the data terminals by means of the network facsimile machine. However, the above-mentioned system has a drawback of increasing amount of data to store. This is because the network facsimile machine, or a mail server system, in a local area network is required to store a great amount of facsimile image information, of which data volume is extremely large compared to that of a typical E-mail. In particular, when the above-described sub-address corresponds to a plurality of E-mail addresses, the network facsimile machine, or the mail server system, is required to store the facsimile image information for each E-mail address, resulting in a considerable increase in the amount of data stored.